Proton Iriz Rally Car hinted, successor to the great Satria Neo rally car?



Proton Motorsports has dropped an image on their Facebook page, hinting that a Proton Iriz could be their subject for a new motorsports project. As far as we can guess, the rally tyres fitted on the Iriz suggest that such a project could be underway.

Proton has had a colourful history in rallying, be it on international or local stages. Remember the good old Satria Neo? That has long been Proton’s weapon of choice and ran rather successfully for many years. It’s not surprising to pick the Iriz as a rally car, really. Most manufacturers now use their B-Segment cars such as the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Citroen DS3 in the World Rally Championship. Another reason why this is a likely scenario is because the Satria Neo is no longer in production.2015-Proton-Iriz-R3-MTC-Sepang-03

There’s no confirmation on when the Iriz will make its rallying debut, but we think it’s safe to assume that it will happen in Perlis this May when the 2016 Malaysian Rally Championship kicks off. Two units of the rally-spec Iriz will hit the ground running, piloted by Malaysia’s rally legend Karamjit Singh and up and coming talent Kenneth Koh.

We reviewed the Proton Iriz last year and agree that, given the Iriz’s promising handling capabilities, it should prove to be a good recipe for rally racing. The Iriz also appeared in touring car racing last year as part of the Malaysia Championship Series.